Anaheim Ducks
Bobby Ryan is now leading the Ducks in goals with 24. He scored twice on Saturday against the Blues and has four points in his last four games. He’s well on his way to passing his career-high point mark of 57 set last year. However, he only played 64 games last year. Jonas Hiller has won three out of his last four games. He also clinched his 20th win of the season over the Blues. Scott Niedermayer scored his fifth goal of the season on Saturday and has four points in his last four games as well.
Calgary Flames
Well, the good news is that Jarome Iginla finally broke his six-game pointless streak last Sunday against the Ducks. However, he still hasn’t scored a goal in his last nine games. Team Canada can only hope that Iginla gets out of this slump by the time the Olympics roll around next month. Miikka Kiprusoff had a nightmare game on Monday against the Sharks. He gave up six goals on 34 shots and was pulled after the second period. He hasn’t won his last five starts and his backup, Curtis McElhinney is giving him no support. The Flames are no doubt in one huge slump right now, but I don’t think this will continue for the rest of the season. They have too many good players and too much leadership to let this get them down.
Chicago Blackhawks
Duncan Keith has set a new career-high in points with 45. He added a goal on Thursday to put his point total at 46. Keith has been improving his point mark every year since he came into the NHL. At this rate, he could be one of the most dominating offensive defenseman in the league. Antti Niemi allowed three goals on just 12 shots Saturday against the Canucks. He was pulled after the first period. It appears Niemi is human after all. Let’s see if this misstep hurts his play from here on out.
Colorado Avalanche
Paul Stastny is on a five-game point streak. He’s only scored one goal in his past 11 games, but he continues to contribute with assists. Craig Anderson has won his last five starts including shutting out the Oilers on Monday for his fourth shutout of the year. Anderson is trying to prove that he should be on the roster for the U.S. Olympic team in Vancouver. However, the U.S. team is already stacked in goalies and it appears he will sit this one out.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Rick Nash achieved the infamous “Gordie Howe” hat trick on Saturday against the Wild with a goal, an assist and a fight. R.J. Umberger had a great week with six points in his last five games. Umberger might be one of those players in your league that no one has given any thought to. If you need some secondary scoring, think about picking him up. He’s got 36 points this year and could easily get to 50 if he stays healthy the rest of the season.
Dallas Stars
Brad Richards has four points in his last three games. The majority of those points came on Monday when he notched three assists against the Wild. Marty Turco snapped his three-games losing streak with a win over the Oilers on Friday. Loui Eriksson is on a four-game point streak. He now ranks second on the Stars with 49 points. James Neal also has a point streak of his own going. His is three games long.
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings could have some players returning to the lineup in the next week. Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams and Tomas Holmstrom are all expected to return to the lineup in late January. Holmstrom owners are no doubt eagerly awaiting his arrival while the other two may be great secondary options. Henrik Zetterberg is on a three-game pointless streak. Todd Bertuzzi has a goal in each of his past two games. He is now up to 15 on the year.
Edmonton Oilers
Dustin Penner broke a four-game pointless streak with two assists Friday against the Stars. He’s just about the only good thing this Oiler team has to talk about. The Oilers have lost 10 straight games. They have yet to win a single game in the 2010 calendar year. Sam Gagner is trying to change that with three points in his past two games. He picked up two goals against the Stars and is now up to 12 on the year.
Los Angeles Kings
Anze Kopitar has been on a roll as of late. He picked up a goal and an assist against the Red Wings on Saturday and has eight points in his last seven games. He went through a bit of slump in December, but the new year has been good to Kopitar. Jonathan Quick has won his past two starts including a tough 4-3 shootout win over the Sabres on Thursday. Drew Doughty has three points in his last three games including two assists against the Sabres.
Minnesota Wild
Mikko Koivu registered two goals Saturday against the Blue Jackets and now has 16 on the season. Andrew Brunette ended his four-game pointless streak and is now on a three-game point streak. Niklas Backstrom picked up a win against the Blue Jackets on Saturday and is now up to 22 for the season. Josh Harding was injured in Thursday’s game against the Red Wings and was replaced after the first period.
Nashville Predators
Steve Sullivan had a three-game point streak snapped on Friday against the Avalanche. Sullivan really hasn’t had a stellar year this year, but he does have 32 points in 51 games. He has already tied his point mark from last year, but he only played 41 games that season. Martin Erat only has one point in his past six games.
Jordin Tootoo returned to the lineup on Thursday. However, he was held pointless in that game, and then again on Friday.
Phoenix Coyotes
Shane Doan had his three-game point streak snapped on Saturday against the Capitals. However, he did manage to register three assists against the Predators on Thursday. Robert Lang snapped a three-game pointless streak with two assists against the Capitals. Ilya Bryzgalov gave up three goals on just 13 shots against the Sabres on Monday and was yanked in the second period. He bounced back nicely with a win over the Predators stopping 41 shots.
San Jose Sharks
Evgeni Nabokov has won his past four starts and is the second goalie to reach 30 wins this year. Dany Heatley had a seven-game point streak snapped on Tuesday against the Kings. Heatley has been quite the addition to the Sharks this year and could be the missing link who will help the Sharks get to the Stanley Cup Finals. Patrick Marleau is on fire with eight points in his last five games.
St. Louis Blues
Brad Boyes snapped a 14-game goalless streak on Thursday against the Senators and is now up to 10 on the year. David Backes missed a second straight game with an upper-body injury. He’s having a pretty good January with eight points in nine games, but he isn’t anybody you should be relying on for the bulk of your scoring. After finally getting some wins together, Chris Mason has now lost his last three starts.
Vancouver Canucks
Henrik Sedin has registered at least one point in 14 of his last 15 games including three three-point games in his last four games. He leads the league in points with 74. Daniel Sedin has played just 33 games, but he is already second on the Canucks in points with 46. The Sedin twins are absolutely destroying the competition and don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Roberto Luongo has won his last four starts including stopping 43 shots against the Blackhawks on Saturday.